WWotWW - Chapter 34 - Feelings of Dread (Patreon)

Soooooo.... I thought I'd posted this up yesterday, but for some reason Patreon didn't post it properly. Again. I probably wouldn't have even noticed if a friend of mine hadn't mentioned it. Sorry for the delay.

I wish I knew why it that sometimes. If anyone knows why Patreon looks like it's publishing a post, but fails to do so occationally, please let me know so I can avoid this problem in the future.

Thanks!


Although I’d agreed with everyone that the clearing that Plays suggested would be a better place to hole up, as soon as we entered the woods, I started regretting my decision. The air grew heavy, almost suffocatingly so, and the shadows seemed to twist unnaturally, reaching out to snare us as we rode past.

“What’s going on?” Mary asked, glancing around furtively. “The forest feels… wrong.”

“The zombies have been left unchecked for too long,” I muttered. “They’re spreading miasma.”

“Miasma? I thought miasma was a dark fog that formed in areas contaminated by death magic.”

“Miasma can take a number of different forms,” Clara explained as she warily scanned the area. “The black fog is by far the most common version, but it’s not the only type of Miasma out there. And it’s areas filled with Black magic, not death magic.”

“What’s the difference?” Mary asked.

“Death magic might have a bad reputation, but it’s actually about manipulating natural processes. Breaking down leaves and deadfall, or turning rotting food into compost. It’s not typically harmful or dangerous,” Clara explained. “Black magic, on the other hand, is malicious and fueled by negative emotions like rage and hate. It’s the only type of magic that provides absolutely no positive benefit. All it can do is cause pain and death.” 

“Are you saying that whoever buried those bodies was a necromancer?”

Clara shook her head. “Necromancy isn’t the study of black magic, it’s the study of death, spirits and reanimation. Looked down on, but not black magic. Besides, one of the most concerning aspects of black magic is that, despite being a horrific thing to practice, it is something that’s natural. All you need is a strong enough emotion and some sort of catalyst, like death. That’s why you show respect to the dead.”

As we traveled further into the trees, I noticed the scattered bits of light peeking through were starting to fade and disappear. This seemed to embolden the shadows, and one of the nearby tendrils snaked off the ground and started wrapping around my foot, working up my leg. I knew it couldn’t do much to me, but I still flicked a small orb of magic at it, driving it away.

“We’ve tarried too long,” I growled. “With the loss of daylight, the miasma has become emboldened. I’m concerned that if we run into a zombie, we’ll have to deal with the resonance.”

I saw Mary open her mouth, so I held up a hand. “The time for questions is over. For now just know that magic isn’t just the spells you cast; it’s the environment you cast in. Like is attracted to like. If you cast in the middle of a coven that practices the same magic as you, it’s easier for you and harder for other types of spellcasters. So, on the flip side, encountering a zombie in an area heavily contaminated with miasma…” I said.

“Is not a good time,” Clara finished. She scanned the area for a couple of seconds before turning back to me. “Do you think we should double back?”

I shook my head. “We’ve already committed to going, and now that it’s getting dark, we’ll have to deal with the misma no matter which direction we go. Let’s keep moving forward,” I said. “Do you think you could create some light to keep the miasma back and make sure we can keep track of each other?”

“The miasma is smothering my magic, but I think I can manage that much,” she replied. 

“Then you take the lead. The girls can follow you and hopefully keep us moving in the right direction, and I’ll bring up the rear,” I said. 

Clara nodded and pulled on her horse's reins, forcing them to make a tight turn before moving to the front of our group. She lifted a hand and muttered a spell under her breath, causing a light to flicker in her hand for a moment, only for it to go out mere seconds later.

“I didn’t realize the miasma was this bad,” I muttered. “You might have to use a focus… you’ve got that travel lantern, right?” 

“Yeah, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough,” Clara replied hesitantly.

“Well, we’ve got to try something. The absolute last thing we want is to get stuck in the middle of the miasma without any light; If your magic is faltering, then I doubt your wards will hold up,” I said. 

Clara nodded and leaned down to dig through her saddlebags, but before she managed to get them open, a loud crack echoed out of the trees to our left. I swiveled in the saddle, slipping my rifle out from between the folds of my sleeping roll as I scanned the area. 

“What was that?” Mary asked nervously. 

“It sounded like something stepped on a stick,” I replied quietly. “Most animals are smart enough to avoid miasma contaminated areas, so if something is wandering around out there I think we should do everything in our power to avoid it. Clara?”

Clara whispered a spell and blew into the old travel lantern she was holding, like she was trying to put it out. However, instead of a light going out, a warm magical light lit within the small glass enclosure. She quickly shut the small door on the side of the lantern and hung it from her saddle. “Done!”

“Good, let’s get out of here before…” I started when I heard another snap from the left, followed by the sound of something scrambling through the pine needles. I turned and just caught a glimpse of something running towards us on all fours. Hunched, and mishapened, but very obviously not an animal.

“What is that?!?!” Mary shouted.

“What I was afraid of, run!” I shouted, pulling up my rifle and aiming at the feral undead. I heard the others take off, but I couldn’t afford to look away, not at the speed this thing was moving; at its current pace, there was a very real chance that it might be able to catch up to the horses. 

I centered the ironsights on the monster’s head, and just as I started pulling the trigger, the miasma flared. Shadows thickened, jumped off the ground, and waved around like tentacles obscuring my view.

“That may work on most people, but you’ll have to do better than that to stop me,” I growled as I released my powers and pulled the trigger. 

The black mass that erupted from my rifle was somehow even darker than the surrounding shadows. It ripped through the miasma, tearing and devouring the black magic, creating a neat, clear corridor between me and the creature.

Unfortunately, in the few seconds where my sight was obscured it had either turned, or shifted, because instead of striking the mutant zombie directly in the forehead, it had only grazed the creature. The round had still ripped most of the flesh off one side of the creature’s face and shattered the upper left part of it’s skull, a wound that would have put down most undead, but this thing barely seemed to have noticed. 

It turned towards me and let out a raspy growl before dropping down onto all fours and charging in my direction. Even though the miasma was closing in, trying to obscure the abomination again, I took my time to line up my second shot and just before the monster disappeared in the miasma, I pulled the trigger. 

The second shot hit the zombie directly between its eyes, causing a void to open in its face before my magic erupted outwards, removing what was left of the creature’s head.

While the monster could apparently survive with a massive head wound, it couldn’t survive with it’s entire head missing. It’s lifeless body collapsed to the ground midstride, tumbling across the forest floor before skidding to a stop a couple feet away.

“That was closer than I would have liked,” I muttered. “I’m glad the miasma couldn’t counteract my magic, otherwise I would have been in big trouble.”

“Merrrow!” Kaylee declared, pawing at my back.

“I know staying to fight it was foolish,” I replied. “But I figured I had the best chance of being able to wound the thing, and I didn’t want to give it a chance to chase after the others,” I replied. “Besides, if I hadn’t wounded it with that first shot then I was going to take off and let it chase me instead of the kids. Safer that way.”

“Muuuurrrr…” Kayle muttered.

“I meant safer for the kids,” I said.

I stared down at the creatures body for a moment before putting a couple more rounds into it, just in case it tried to get up again later. You could never be to careful in a situation like this. When I was done I slipped my rifle back between the folds of my bedroll before taking the reins again.

“We should get out of here. I’m sure those gunshots could be heard for miles, and I don’t want to be here if something else decides to come over and investigate,” I said, gathering up the reins and glancing around. “Now, which way did Clara and the kids go?”